Fireplaces continue to be one of the most popular features in real estate; because of this, many homeowners choose to include a fireplace in their plans when building a new home.
While your contractor is the right person to trust when it comes to building your home, they may not be properly trained to build or install fireplaces. Because of this, we recommend that our customers have a chimney inspection done when a homebuilder installs a new fireplace.
Why choose a chimney professional?
When it comes to building or installing a new fireplace unit, many homeowners choose to work with their current builder or contractor instead of hiring a chimney professional. While this may seem like a good idea at the time as it is one less person to deal with, it may leave you with a fireplace that is incorrectly installed.
Fireplace and chimneys are complex systems that need to be properly installed in order to work correctly. Even the difference of a few inches – or, in gas fireplaces, as little as a few millimeters – can impact fireplace safety and performance. If installed incorrectly, your fireplace may experience usage issues such as loss of heat or efficiency, as well as potential safety issues such as gas leaks.
It can also be tempting to go with the least expensive company in an effort to save money. Unfortunately, the cheapest company may also lack the experience necessary to correctly install your fireplace unit. While anyone with a truck and a brush can call themselves a chimney sweep, only those certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America have the training and skills necessary to correctly install a fireplace. Likewise, a certified fireplace professional can also inspect previously-installed appliances to make sure they have been correctly installed.
The importance of chimney inspections
Whether you have a new fireplace or an existing system, an annual chimney inspection is one of the most important things homeowners can do for fireplace maintenance. While a chimney sweeping is an excellent way to remove creosote, ash, soot, and other debris, a clean chimney should still be inspected.
Fireplace and chimney inspections are important because they can often identify potential problems before they turn into major – and costly – issues. In addition, the use of technology during your chimney inspection can help look at areas of the chimney that are inaccessible to the naked eye. For example, closed circuit cameras can be used as a tool to help chimney sweeps look inside the structure of the flue. Using cameras, areas that have been damaged can be easily identified and repaired without the need to take apart the entire chimney structure.
If you’ve recently had a fireplace built or installed by a homebuilder, they may have made mistakes that are difficult to recognize. Because of this, you may want to have your new fireplace and chimney inspection. Contact Coopertown Services today to schedule your chimney inspection and get the peace of mind that your fireplace is safely and properly installed.